Materials Buyers Are Multitaskers

We know that design engineers are highly involved in selecting both the materials and the suppliers for their designs. But a recent Design News Materials Survey showed that they will be setting the parameters of many designs. Today's engineers have expertise that crosses multiple disciplines, and they're involved in multiple job functions.

A whopping 84 percent of the survey respondents said they determine the type of materials that will be used in their designs, and 64 percent recommend brands and/or vendors. Almost 70 percent make the final decision in selecting materials. When it comes to choosing suppliers, design engineers are doing almost everything except make the final decision; only 31 percent said they're responsible for that. Yet 80 percent specify, recommend, or influence the selection of suppliers, and 61 percent are involved in getting vendors on the approved vendor list (AVL).

Most respondents said their companies maintain an AVL. But vendors must do a lot more than compete on price to get on that list. Quality, performance, and reliability were the top three factors chosen by survey respondents. Price came in sixth, after delivery and previous experience. The emphasis on overall quality jibes with the renewed emphasis on excellence in US manufacturing. And the majority of engineers work in demanding application areas where quality, performance, and reliability are musts: industrial machinery, automotive and trucking, medical and healthcare, military/defense, and aerospace.

This focus on quality also connects with the shifts in the types of materials that engineers plan to use. The number of engineers who said they are increasing the amount of high-performance engineering plastics in their designs was about equal to the number maintaining their amount. Almost as many are boosting amounts of lightweight alloys as those maintaining use levels.

Engineers expect to increase their use in all the categories we asked about: injection molders, composites, ceramics, powder metals, foundries, die casters, specialty alloys, ferrous alloys, adhesives and coatings, standard polymers, engineering polymers, and elastomers. That means a lot of engineers will be considering a lot of new materials and new suppliers. Although injection molders may help them select many of those materials, the design engineer rarely leaves materials and supplier selection entirely up to the molder.

A large majority said their company's manufacturing function helps select materials. But that's only one indication that there's no more throwing it over the wall to someone in a different field of expertise. Most of today's engineers function in multiple disciplines. As product designs are becoming more integrated and pulling together different technologies and disciplines, so are their designers.

For instance, half the respondents work in mechanical engineering, and another 25 percent list that discipline as an additional area of expertise. Only 13 percent listed manufacturing engineering as their primary discipline, but 52 percent said it's a secondary discipline. Similarly, many more engineers listed materials engineering and electromechanical engineering as secondary disciplines than as primary disciplines.

And that's only the beginning. Secondary job functions are also a big part of the design engineer's work environment. In addition to product or system design, half the respondents are involved in R&D, and about the same number are involved in testing and evaluation. About a quarter are also involved in designing equipment for internal use or quality control.

Engineers are outlining design specifications; determining what type of solution they want; evaluating different products, brands, and vendors; and testing materials. Today's design engineers have a strong voice in selecting not only the materials but also the products and the vendors they want to use to turn their designs into reality.

Very interesting survey results, Ann. With the renewed focus on manufacturing excellence and quality, it makes sense that engineers can no longer make decisions in silos. Also, today's competitive products don't just demand the least expensive materials, but the most efficient and cost effective materials. There's definitely a difference.

Based on the sentiments that the survey bore out, it's heartening to see the design tool vendors keeping up, offering capabilities that can help leverage simulation as a means of exploring optimal materials choices as well as serving up tighter integration with manufacturing and sourcing systems as part of breaking down silos.

I am a materials engineer for an outboard engine manufacturer. Sometimes people ask me what part of the engine I'm responsible for. I tell them, "Everything that's made out of anything."

Materials selection is an important task, because everything has to be made out of something. You only need to take a glance at the Made by Monkeys and Sherlock Ohms blogs to see the consequences of making something out of the wrong material.

As Ann's article points out, there are a huge number of considerations that have to be weighed when selecting the proper material for an application. Some companies expect design engineers to be able to take care of materials selection on their own. In my experience, this is both unrealistic and inefficient.

Expecting each individual design engineer to accumulate enough materials knowledge to handle any given situation (in addition to the mechanical, electrical, thermal, CAD, and CAE knowlege they need) is unreasonable. With the exception of a few rare geniuses, most people are simply not capable of being experts in all of these disciplines. Besides, there is simply not enough time in a 24-hour day. Having one or more degreed and experienced materials engineers, preferably with a well-equipped materials lab, is far more efficient.

For companies that can't afford this, seeking out a materials engineering consultant may be a good investment. The cost of doing so may be far less than the cost of making something out of the wrong material.

Dave, thanks for your input. I was surprised to find out how many design engineers listed materials engineering or manufacturing engineering as a second job function that they were clearly not formally trained in, as well as how many are responsible for determining/deciding on materials.

Interesting article, Ann and really great news about the "return to quality" revolution. I am really not surprised at the increasing roles that design engineers are playing in selecting materials. From my past experience, most companies utilize engineering talent wherever it is found, when there is a need to be met. As a test engineer I was on occasion software programmer, hardware designer, product/parts purchaser, fixture designer, software trainer, webmaster, and technical writer...but I also had other engineers to consult with when I was treading in unfamiliar territory.

I think for a design engineer to be able to have a hand in materials selection is a wonderful thing. They have true ownership and experience to back their choices - any engineer that I am acquainted with is multi-disciplined by nature. But I also agree with Dave that their expertise will be limited. The design engineer teamed up with a materials engineer would be the ideal.

Nancy, thanks for your input about engineers' multiple roles in materials selection. To clarify, my comments about the return to quality in US manufacturing were not derived from this study, but from what we've been hearing and seeing from many different sources.

Thanks for the clarification, Ann - it is nice to see that while your comments were not derived from this study, the data you included: "Quality, performance, and reliability were the top three factors chosen by survey respondents" certainly indicates that it is reflective of the current trends you mentioned. Thanks for a great article!

Most mechanical and structural engineers understand materials on the basis of our Strength of Materials and our metallurgy classes in college. They (we) look at tensile and compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, Rockwell hardness and a few other characteristics. Beyond that, we're out of our depth and most of us admit it.

Very good article. In addition to all of the multiple functions mentioned, engineers also have obtain cost reductions from their suppliers and often have to perform price reduction negotiations. Not only do engineers have to be technically savvy, they also have to have a sharp business mind as well.

Good point, Greg. It makes sense, though, that the engineer be involved in price negotiations. That person would be most aware of the price flexibility at the supplier. Also, that engineer would know what flexibility her or she has when it comes to structuring an efficient relationship with the supplier. Offering an efficiency flow can help the supplier cut costs.

Greg, good point about the price negotiations engineers must also perform, in addition to everything else. Seems to me that engineers are starting to look a lot like the Renaissance men and women of US manufacturing.

@Greg: Price negotiations should be the responsibility of the purchasing department. I don't see anything praiseworthy in a purchasing department that delegates its role to already-overworked engineers.

Supporting the purchasing department by identifying cost-reduction opportunities is one thing, but it's a real shame when engineers have to get involved in commercial issues.

As an engineer, I would prefer to go back to a simpler time, when price and availability were the responsibility of the Purchasing department. However, at many companies today, upper management expects (and sometimes demands) that everyone try to uncover cost reductions and that every department (including engineering) bring some type of cost reduction savings to the table. At first, this was an uncomfortable role, however, as time went on, I appreciated learning from our Purchasing group and developing this skill set.

This is an interesting discussion about purchasing vs engineering entering into price negotiations. My second tech editor job was with Electronic Buyers' News (EBN) in the very early 90s, where I learned first how important purchasing was to the (mostly electronic) component buying process and then later, in the mid 90s, how PMs were disappearing from the process and engineers were taking over purchasing functions. Looks like the pendulum has swung back to engineers for at least some of these duties.

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